Love Dolls That Hug and Recognize You May Become A Dream Come True
Evolving AI and sensory technologies are turning ‘things' into interactive companions.
As part of our ongoing Future of Sex Expert series, Davecat, who identifies as robosexual and an iDollator, shares his most anticipated developments for robot companions over the next five years. Davecat's doll partners are Sidore, Elena, Miss Winter, Dyanne, and Ursula Clarke.
Personally, I have two hopes/expectations/what-have-you for artificial companions in the next five years: more development with mechanical engineering, so that you'd have increased movement in a Doll's head, neck, and upper torso.
For example, the head of a Realbotix Doll is currently able to move to the left or right, as well as up and down, but not completely to the left or right. I'm picturing her being able to turn her head 90° to the left or right, as well as being able to bring her chin almost to her chest. In addition, her being able to move her arms would be extraordinary.
In five years' time, unless we're exceptionally lucky, we're not going to be seeing the level of fine servo engineering to be able to make her individual fingers move, much less allow her to hold a small object. But even if she were able to do something as simple as gently wrap her arms around a partner, that would go a very long way to strengthen the bond between her and her Organik companion.
Apart from the engineering aspect, a big hurdle in getting that problem sorted would be the ability to cram additional servos into a Doll's arms and upper torso, without adding too much weight or sacrificing aesthetics. But one has to start somewhere!
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Synthetik companions and artifical intelligence
My other hope would be advancements on the artificial intelligence front.
It's been mentioned by several individuals that a goal would be to have a Synthetik companion with an AI that has access to the Internet; for example, a person could ask their Doll “what's today's weather going to be?” and she'd tell you.
Or my personal ideal is where I could send an SMS message to Sidore Mk.V, and she'd text me back, much as how the popular AI app Replika sends notifications to the phones of its users.
Once we get into concepts like microphones in a Doll's ears and cameras in her eyes, then we could talk about her being able to recognize your specific voice and face, but that's more than likely ten years away, let alone navigating the logistics of the whole facial recognition issue.
But having a Doll with more of a connection to the Internet, utilizing filters that her Organik partner could control, would be amazing, as it would also help turn a Doll from simple “thing” status to more of an interactive companion.
Another personal goal would be for a future iteration of Sidore to be my Japanese language tutor!…
Image sources: Davecat
